Nuts About Granola

Honestly, who wants to spend any more time then they have to in the kitchen when the weather is ideal? I’d much rather be spending every last moment soaking up the beautiful essence of the season than being planted behind a kitchen counter waiting for a cake to bake.

Despite feeling the need to be outside for 90% of August, I also don’t want to miss out on some of the most quintessential foods of my favorite time of year.

S’mores are one of those summertime treats that bring back incredible memories with each bite. I’ll admit, I would much rather be sitting behind a campfire cooking a marshmallow, but that isn’t always realistic.

There are still ways to enjoy this delicious campfire treat without the actual process of making a fire. Trust me, as much as I love authentic s’mores, I don’t love the idea of camping as much, so I improvise.

And while I’m improvising, I’ll just go ahead and put my own little touches on this classic. Let’s be real, replacing peanut butter for the chocolate and adding a touch of granola makes these acceptable for breakfast right?

If you’ve been following my blog for awhile, you may already know that for over a year, I’ve been working with Nuts About Granola as their blog manager and recipe developer.

Nuts About Granola is a locally based granola company stationed out of South Central Pennsylvania, owned and operated by one of my dear friends and entrepreneurial rockstar’s, Sarah Lanphier (now) Himes. I had the pleasure of meeting Sarah a few years ago through a blog connection and we have been great friends and business partners ever since.

Nuts About Granola produces authentic handmade products in small batches and mixed by hand to ensure quality. Currently, the Nuts About Granola product line is largely sold in farmers markets in the South-Central PA region and online. In addition to being granola fanatics, they’ve become huge supporters of the Buy Fresh, Buy Local movement to help achieve the ultimate in freshness. All of their products contain only all natural and organic ingredients, with an emphasis on local, which has earned us the “PA Preferred” seal by from Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

You can now see why I’m such a granola nut and why I feel so strongly about this company. Aside from my personal connections, I really do stand so strongly on my beliefs that this granola is by far some of the freshest and most delicious tasting I’ve ever had.

So one of my job task’s each week is to come up with a recipe for their site featuring none other than…granola. I post these recipes every week on the NAG blog, but I just thought I would share some of my favorites recently.

Almond Butter and Fig Jam Sandwich with Banana and Granola

Ingredients:

Spread almond butter on one slice of bread and jam on the other. Thinly slice the banana and place on the bread slice with the almond butter. Sprinkle granola on top and secure the sandwich with the jam slice on top of the banana slice. Cut in half and enjoy!

Whole Grain Peanut Butter Granola French Toast

In a shallow bowl, whisk eggs into milk. Add the cinnamon and vanilla and set aside.

Place the bread in a baking pan and pour milk mixture over the bread, making sure that all parts are covered. Let the bread sit for 20-30 minutes to soak up most of the liquid.

Place the granola on a plate. Remove one slice of bread from the pan and dip each side into the granola, pressing down to ensure that the granola sticks to the bread.

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Melt the butter in the pan and add the bread, one slice at a time. Cook on one side for 4 minutes, flip and cook on the other side for an additional 4 minutes.

Repeat process with all bread slices.

Top with fresh fruit and all natural maple syrup.

All of these recipe and many many more can be found on the NAG blog. I invite you to follow me over there for weekly granola recipes that will give you a whole new perspective on your normal yogurt topping.

Let’s face it, granola is one of those “health foods” that has transformed into more of a guilty pleasure than a nutritious meal option, but when you are consuming local, all natural, fresh, and organic ingredients, it makes eating this stuff every single day a little more acceptable.

I’m not really sure how the evolution of my blogging schedule is working out, but man do I sure miss posting more often. In reality, I’m keeping busy, but also, I just don’t seem to have too many exciting pictures or things to say at the moment. A rare feat for me, but I’m assuming that should change soon.

Anyways, I neglected to do a Friday Confessions post last week so rather than wait until this Friday, I thought it might be fun to do a little catch up on some randomness today.

Random Fact #1

I’ve sort of developed this weird new habit of swallowing my gum. It’s childish, I know, but for some reason I can’t seem to kick it. It all started when I found the new Extra Lemon Square flavor and it tasted so good that I wanted to eat it, so I literally did. Now, I swallow my gum all of the time, mainly out of laziness to walk the three steps to the trash can to spit it out. There are other gross and unhealthy habits I have, I’m sure. I’ll get to those another day.

Random Fact #2

My new favorite weeknight activity- Wine and Bingo! The bar I work at hosts Bingo nights every Thursday and I’ve found myself there for the past few weeks. Who knew drinking wine and playing trashy bar bingo would be so much fun.

Random Fact #3

I have a new favorite shot and it’s called a Baby Guinness. Cafe Patron topped with Baileys. Oh my, dangerously good. Thank goodness these things aren’t cheap or else I would find myself ordering more than just one.

Random Fact #4

And now that I’ve talked about unhealthy habits of swallowing chewing gum and weeknight drinking for the past five minutes, let’s digress into what I really should be consuming more of. You know I’m not opposed to eating copious amounts of vegetables, its just I don’t seem to have the opportunity to buy or prepare them as I once did. I’ve been relying on veggie juices for the past few weeks to help reach my quota. Not quite the same but it’s sufficing for the moment.

Random Fact #5

Some habits never change and that is my overwhelming love for sunflower seed butter. I have been going through these jars faster than ever, which really has been turning out in my favor. You all know what happens with an almost empty nut butter jar. And if not, find out here.

Random Fact #6

Tomorrow is my birthday where I will be turning the uneventful age of 27. I’m not really sure how I feel about the number. I was really enjoying 26, and for some reason, 27 just sounds too old.

Random Fact #7

I was beyond honored to be featured in the latest issue of Susquehanna Style Magazine. Aside from the recognition itself, the write up was so touching. Such a beautiful magazine!

I admit, the normalcy of my schedule has altered quite a bit in the past month. Ever since moving to Chicago, I have had to do a complete adjustment of my daily routine in order to adapt to a new job and lifestyle. I knew going into it that I would have to let go of some of my rigid routine and foster a more “go with the flow” attitude, and I was ready for it.

Now that I’ve been here a few weeks, I can safely say that I’ve pretty much acclimated myself to the environment and new itinerary.

But just for kicks, let’s take a look at the comparison:

Old Routine:

5:00am – Wake up, Workout

7:00am – Breakfast

8:00am – Work

12:00pm – Lunch

6:00pm- Dinner

9:00pm- Bed

New Routine:

10:00am – Wake Up

10:30am – Breakfast

11:00am- Workout

3:00pm- Lunch

4:00pm- Work

3:00am- Bed

Quite different as you can see. But as much as I never claimed to be a night owl, my body suddenly can’t seem to fall asleep before midnight. I’m just as surprised as you.

Regardless of a late night, I still somehow manage to wake up with breakfast on my mind. Quite a bit has changed in my everyday tasks, but my favorite meal of the day still takes top priority.

Most mornings, I’m sticking to my usual oatmeal or yogurt bowls, but when the opportunity arises for something a bit more involved and satisfying, I jump on it.

Last Saturday, I woke up at the unusually late hour of 11am and decided it was the perfect opportunity for a delectable brunch. By the way, brunch is very underrated in my humble opinion.

So then this happened….

I made this for the purpose of my job as a recipe developer for Nuts About Granola and shared it on the NAG blog earlier this week, but honestly, it was just too good not to share with you as well.

So even though I’ve traded my early morning workouts for a late night shift drink and the normal meal hours are all out of whack, I’m still taking care of the things that matter most. Some things will never change.

In a shallow bowl, whisk eggs into milk. Add the cinnamon and vanilla and set aside.

Place the bread in a baking pan and pour milk mixture over the bread, making sure that all parts are covered. Let the bread sit for 20-30 minutes to soak up most of the liquid.

Place the granola on a plate. Remove one slice of bread from the pan and dip each side into the granola, pressing down to ensure that the granola sticks to the bread.

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Melt the butter in the pan and add the bread, one slice at a time. Cook on one side for 4 minutes, flip and cook on the other side for an additional 4 minutes.

Happy Election Day! No matter where you stand on this heated election, I sincerely hope you choose to exercise today, exercise your right to vote that is.

This will be my second presidential election that I am old enough to have a say and living in Pennsylvania, we are considered a big swing state so the candidates have been doing some pretty heavy campaigning here in the last few months. I’m not really sure what to think about this election but I do know I’ll be voting either way and YOU SHOULD TOO!!!!

Changing pace, I also wanted to take an opportunity to bring up the topic of the hurricane relief efforts. Although the storm has passed, the devastation that it has caused for so many has not. We got extremely lucky in PA but a lot of our surrounding states did not and it breaks my heart to hear the stories of despair that continue to develop.

The only bright note in the midst of a disaster is the amount of people that come forward to show their support. I have been overwhelmed by the amount of bloggers that have taken action to help. Clare just posted a great review of so many relief posts that are currently going on in the blog world. Definitely check it out!

Changing pace again.

This happened yesterday….

Yes that would be a tattoo on my right wrist and it’s 100& real.

I guess I should explain. I’ve wanted a tattoo for years but I have not been able to fully decide on what I want or where I wanted it. My original thought was the lotus symbol. I’ve always loved the image itself, but the meaning behind it is so beautiful and one that resonates very strongly with me.

The lotus represents purity and beauty in many cultures but the story behind this symbol is that its roots sit strong within murky waters, but it’s petals bloom upright towards the sun, meaning perseverance. To me, this means overcoming odds, always staying rooted in your beliefs, and rising above.

So like I said, I knew I wanted one for awhile now but I still wasn’t set on the location. I thought about my hip but I really wanted it visible or else I don’t think I would have even gotten one. Then when I was in Mexico, I decided to get a henna on my wrist to see if I would like it there and I did.

Yesterday, I met my friend for coffee and told her I was just going to do it. She agreed to come with me and off we went this afternoon. That was that.

To be honest, it really didn’t hurt that much. I wasn’t nervous about the pain (I have a high pain tolerance), more the thought of having something so permanent placed on my body but I kept thinking how it really was me and something I could live with forever.

I’m so pleased with how it turned out.

Speaking of being pleased with outcomes, let’s talk about this end result.

Did you know that the first week of November is National Fig Week? Neither did I until my friend Janetha told me.

I’ve been spotting figs at the grocery store for the past few weeks but I wanted to have a recipe in mind before I dished out the money for them. Fresh figs are so elaborate and deserve a worthy recipe as such.

This pizza is not a completely innovate concept as I’ve had this combination before, but this is probably the first time I’ve attempted it at home.

It was so simple I almost feel silly posting it.

But then again, sometimes the simple recipes are the ones that need sharing the most.

Thankfully, I awoke this morning to a mildly shaken backyard and full power. It seems as though Sandy didn’t reek the havoc that she threatened which was greatly appreciated. Even though things are calming down, there are still many homes without electric, most business and schools are closed, and we are still being told to stay inside in the event that trees or power lines would fall in the aftermath. We’re on the backend but not out of the woods quite yet.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to use the treadmill this morning so I made sure to have a backup plan just in case.

Luckily, the treadmill was working just fine so I willingly put in a few miles before completing this 20 minute Abs and Shoulder workout I threw together.

My shoulders were burning by the end of this! And in case you were wondering, I used 5 pound dumbbells for each exercise.

Let’s move on to the topic of food. I feel like it’s been days since I’ve shared a recipe with you all, and even though I may not be posting, I assure you, I’m still working away in that kitchen of mine.

Last week, I came up with a recipe that has been sitting in my head for over a month. It involves granola and I know what you’re thinking, could this girl possibly need any more granola in her life. The answer is YES! I will always need more granola in my life and you should too!

As you may or may not know, I currently work for Nuts About Granola and one of my tasks as the blog manager is to come up with a new granola recipe every week. It’s a rough job, I know.

With our new line of Granola Basics Box Mix which allows you to make your own fresh granola at home with just a few simple steps, I had major intentions of putting together a fall-inspired granola flavor using everyones favorite fall ingredient, pumpkin!

But then I thought, why stop there. Pumpkin granola isn’t so exceptional anymore right? Well it is when you add everyones second favorite ingredient, almond butter!

That my friends, is how this beautiful recipe came to be.

This is quite possibly my best granola recipe yet!

Pumpkin and almond butter coat these crunches oat clusters and give this recipe incredible flavor! If you are all about the sweet and savory (like me), you need to get on this now!

I’ve shared the full recipe on the NAG blog this morning, so head over there to check out how simple and easy it can be made.

By the way, I made this last Thursday and I just finished it up this morning. Yeah, portion control didn’t seem to take place here, but that’s okay, it was worth it.

I had the last serving for breakfast today paired with some cottage cheese (with cinnamon), raspberries, banana and sunflower seed butter.

I’m telling you, best granola recipe ever! I could not stop myself from grabbing handfuls of this stuff at a time, which probably explains why I went through the entire batch in less than a week.

Well today is still up in the air. I am supposed to see some clients for health coaching but it looks like our facility may be closed until further notice. Toly is off work as well so I guess that means another day indoors for us!

Have a wonderful Tuesday everyone!

Question:

Do you have a favorite granola flavor?

Don’t Forget:

Still time to enter my giveaway for 3 boxes of Health Warrior Chia Bars. Ends Thursday!